Meet the Pavlok – The Habit Forming Wristband
In my previous post, I mentioned that the Arrow smartwatch has a huge stand-out feature that involves a spinning camera lens, but I found a wristband with a feature that could easily become a standard smartphone feature.
I believe that the Pavlok takes part of its name from Pavlov, the man who taught his dog to salivate at the ringing of a bell. He is considered the father of classical conditioning, and it was his unintended discoveries that led to the psychology of using good rewards or bad punishments to reinforce human behavior. This Pavlok wristband uses electrical shocks to make one avoid bad behavior.
Make That Change
The Pavlok uses an electrical shock to give pain in case of user naughtiness. For example, if the user needs help waking up on time, the shock is there. Also, if the user hits the snooze bar twice, there will also be a shock.
I am guessing that there has to be some sort of application that will tell you what situations will shock you. I would hate to be shocked by accident. Worse yet, I could get used to the shock until I develop a tolerance to it. I would hate to have to up the voltage to get better results.
But Will it Work?
Most psychiatrists will agree that we can’t live on just punishing bad behavior. Can there be a way that the user can receive an opposite of an electric shock to reinforce good behavior? Maybe I shouldn’t think about that one too hard.
Well, you can’t have this feature on a smartwatch… yet. In all honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised to see something like this on a smartphone. Perhaps the vibration feature could substitute as the shock from the Pavlok. If you are interesting in the shocking experience from the Pavlok, just wait later this year and pay about £300/$250.
